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3.75 AVERAGE
3.75 AVERAGE
haltingly started in (checks notes) fall of 2017; finished in 2022
Interesting, but more straightforward and dry than expected. Surprisingly, I found the various tangential connections that Hesse explores to be more interesting than the central arson case. I would not recommend the audio version, as the reader occasionally sounds robotic and does a different voice for the dialogue of male characters, an odd choice for a nonfiction book.
Ever since I inhaled the S-Town podcast in two days, I’ve been looking to recapture that weird, can’t-look-away fascination I felt as I listened to John B. McLemore’s story unfold. American Fire comes pretty dang close.
The basic story is this: a few years ago, someone started lighting abandoned buildings in Accomack County, Virginia on fire. It’s a rural enough area that the fire departments are all volunteer outfits, staffed by people who have to get up and go to their day jobs after fighting fires all night. And whoever this arsonist was, they were prolific, sometimes setting multiple blazes per night, until it started to seem like the entire county would burn to the ground before the guilty party was caught.
I don’t read a lot of true crime because I don’t have the stomach for it, but as the daughter of a fire chief, I found myself curious about the story behind the fires in Accomack and what would drive a person to burn down empty buildings night after night. Journalist Monica Hesse unfolds the story in a way that reminded me of S-Town—there are layers to the people involved and the problems they have. As you might expect, there’s no single, easy answer waiting to be revealed at the end, but in a way that’s what makes it satisfying.
Highly recommended, especially if you have an investigative spirit and enjoy probing the dark corners of other people’s minds.
More book recommendations by me at www.readingwithhippos.com
The basic story is this: a few years ago, someone started lighting abandoned buildings in Accomack County, Virginia on fire. It’s a rural enough area that the fire departments are all volunteer outfits, staffed by people who have to get up and go to their day jobs after fighting fires all night. And whoever this arsonist was, they were prolific, sometimes setting multiple blazes per night, until it started to seem like the entire county would burn to the ground before the guilty party was caught.
I don’t read a lot of true crime because I don’t have the stomach for it, but as the daughter of a fire chief, I found myself curious about the story behind the fires in Accomack and what would drive a person to burn down empty buildings night after night. Journalist Monica Hesse unfolds the story in a way that reminded me of S-Town—there are layers to the people involved and the problems they have. As you might expect, there’s no single, easy answer waiting to be revealed at the end, but in a way that’s what makes it satisfying.
Highly recommended, especially if you have an investigative spirit and enjoy probing the dark corners of other people’s minds.
More book recommendations by me at www.readingwithhippos.com
challenging
informative
reflective
sad
medium-paced
challenging
dark
informative
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
Very interesting and relatively fast paced! Wish it had talked a little more about the location/context
A simple true crime tale with deeply unlikable characters. A slow burn (ba dum tss).
Listened to the audiobook in two sittings.
A gripping, well-told story about a series of crimes and the couple who committed them, with enough context about the region--its politics, its quirks, its culture--to bring their world to life.
Perplexingly, this book is shelved under "sociology" rather than "true crime" at some bookstores. It under-delivers as a sociological text, never convincingly showing the "connection" between arson and economic recession, the waning of rural culture, or the struggles and passions of a relationship. Yet if taken as a true crime book it's a standout work--it presents a gripping story without the cheesy sensationalizing typical of other works in the genre.
I've knocked off a star for its failure to deliver a satisfying explanation for why these crimes were committed--what truly motivates an arsonist? The author never fulfills her promise to link these crimes to economic decline, nor does she provide any salient proof for how this crime spree has nationwide implications. It's as if she blames the fires on two factors: the collapse of rural America in the 21st century, AND "the crazy things we do for love," but I'm not convinced either was the culprit. I would've loved a clearer understanding of how the couple at the heart of this story fit (or failed to fit) the psychological profile of an arsonist.
Still, this is a damn good tale. If you love true crime or the intrigue of a Bonnie and Clyde-type duo, or if (like me) you have even a passing interest in the work of fire departments, investigators, and the problematic zeal of armchair sleuths, this book is not to be missed.
In short:
Well written? Yes
Well researched? Yes, but with some gaps
Compelling story? Yes
Worth reading? Yes. The audiobook is great, too.
A gripping, well-told story about a series of crimes and the couple who committed them, with enough context about the region--its politics, its quirks, its culture--to bring their world to life.
Perplexingly, this book is shelved under "sociology" rather than "true crime" at some bookstores. It under-delivers as a sociological text, never convincingly showing the "connection" between arson and economic recession, the waning of rural culture, or the struggles and passions of a relationship. Yet if taken as a true crime book it's a standout work--it presents a gripping story without the cheesy sensationalizing typical of other works in the genre.
I've knocked off a star for its failure to deliver a satisfying explanation for why these crimes were committed--what truly motivates an arsonist? The author never fulfills her promise to link these crimes to economic decline, nor does she provide any salient proof for how this crime spree has nationwide implications. It's as if she blames the fires on two factors: the collapse of rural America in the 21st century, AND "the crazy things we do for love," but I'm not convinced either was the culprit. I would've loved a clearer understanding of how the couple at the heart of this story fit (or failed to fit) the psychological profile of an arsonist.
Still, this is a damn good tale. If you love true crime or the intrigue of a Bonnie and Clyde-type duo, or if (like me) you have even a passing interest in the work of fire departments, investigators, and the problematic zeal of armchair sleuths, this book is not to be missed.
In short:
Well written? Yes
Well researched? Yes, but with some gaps
Compelling story? Yes
Worth reading? Yes. The audiobook is great, too.
A longish magazine article? Sure. A book? Not so much.
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
sad
fast-paced
challenging
dark
sad
medium-paced